Popular Woodworking 2008-11 № 172, страница 26

Bowsaw Basics

BY FRANK KLAUSZ

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hy should you own a bowsaw? Why not? You have many othertoolsthat you use only when you need them. Seriously, if you make 18ih-ceniury-siyle furniture, or you make furniture with hand tools, you should own a couple of bowsaws.

In my shop, which hasall the machines you can imagine, I use bowsaws. If 1 cut dovetails in material thicker than V2", 1 reach for my bowsaw. 1 keep my material behind my shop in a pole barn. If 1 have to crosscut a board for one piece, the fastest way is with a bowsaw. 1 put the board on a couple horses, cut it, put the leftoverback on the rack and take the piece in the shop. There's no extension cord or machine to put away.

In my native Hungary, I grew up without electricity. Therefore in the shop, the bowsaw was the main tool used for crosscut ling, ripping, dovetailing, for mortise-and-tenon joinery and more.

My father came for a visii to the United States in 1974, and he spent some time work-ingwiih me in my shop. Hestarted looking for ihe frame saws. 1 told him, "Sorry Dad, this is America; we cui wood with machines."

A year later he came for another visit and brought a dozen different bowsaw blades: Five teeth per inch (tpi) for ripping, 4 ipi for rough crosscutting, 12 ipi for joinery and a dovetail cutoui saw - which is a blade with a 90° 1 wist in it. He made frames, handles, stretchers and toggles and used upholstery twine (look for "Ruby Italian" twine from an upholstery supplier) for tensioning the blades with toggles. He kepi a saw close ai hand, sometimes hanging it on a peg next to ihe bench. We did furniture restorations, and he used the saws very often.

He said to me: "By the lime you walk to the band saw. before you start it, I am done with the cut, very comfortably without going to the middle of the shop. For a corner block ora Yy" dowel rod, you don't start a machine.

The corner block you cut with a bowsaw; the V«" dowel rod you cut with your small dovetail saw."

This year I am the same age as my father was in 1975, and 1 truly agree with him.

Japanese Teeth; European Frame

Recently, 1 goi a classic frame saw from Highland Woodworking. They pui ajapanese blade onto a classic European saw frame. This Ger

man-made classic frame saw's ergonomically curved cheeks and handles are made from plantation-grown tropical hardwoods, and the stretcher is made from cedar, which makes ii lightweight.

The frame is beautifully sanded and finished. Tension is applied through a stainless steel rod and thumbscrew, which works very well. However, I changed mine to the traditional twine and toggle. This looks and feels

42 ■ Popular Woodworking November 2008

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